Potomac News

FEES RAISED FOR COURT-APPOINTED ATTORNEYS

By Jaclyn Pitts
February 28, 2007
jpitts@potomacnews.com

Payment for court-appointed defense attorneys has long been debated, especially in Virginia.

Now, thanks to bills that recently passed unanimously in the House and Senate, those attorneys might start getting paid a little more.

The General Assembly approved legislation on Wednesday and Thursday that will allow judges to lift the cap on fees that the state pays court-appointed attorneys. The fee structure has been an area of contention for years, according to legal experts. Gov. Timothy M. Kaine is expected to sign the legislation.

Caps on court-appointed attorney fees are $120 for misdemeanors, $445 for felonies with penalties of up to 20 years imprisonment and $1,235 for felonies with terms of 20 years to life, as regulated by the Virginia state code.

Those amounts are the maximum a court-appointed attorney will be paid, no matter how much time the case takes.

For court-appointed representation on death penalty cases, the court determines the fee for the attorney.

If the indigent defendant is found guilty, he or she must pay the attorney fees and court costs. If the defendant is acquitted, the court pays the court-appointed attorney's fees.

Under the new legislation, judges may authorize an additional $850 for serious felony cases and an additional $155 for lesser felonies. Misdemeanors would have the cap waived to authorize an additional $120.

Attorneys may also seek a waiver on the second capped fee amount, according to the legislation, which can only be granted by the judge and is subject to the approval of the chief judge of the Circuit Court.

To local defense attorney Jim Baker, the new legislation "means you don't have to go broke," he said.

Baker, who has been practicing law in Prince William County for 18 years, said he is amazed the bills passed.

Indigent defense in Virginia has been under more scrutiny since the American Bar Association found substantial deficiencies in the state's indigent defense during a 2004 study.

Some have attributed poor legal representation for indigent defendants to the fact that Virginia pays court-appointed attorneys the least in the nation.

"Last I heard we were 50 among 50, and it's tough to beat that," Baker said.

Local defense attorney and president of the Prince William County Bar Association Casey R. Stevens said he thinks "without a doubt, [the legislation] is long overdue."

Stevens said this legislation will help protect the 6th Amendment right to adequate counsel, a right he said has potentially been jeopardized in Virginia through capped fees.

"Protecting rights is what protects all of us," Stevens said.

He said there has been a long-time concern for many court-appointed attorneys who end up paying for much of those cases out of their own pockets.

Stevens said many attorneys volunteer their time and services to court-appointed cases to give back to the community, but that generosity has long been taken for granted by the state.

But Stevens said he thinks perhaps the ABA study might have "put fire under the Legislature" to get movement on the fee caps.

"I'm pleased to hear that it passed. It's been an ongoing problem, and it's revolutionary that [the Legislature] is doing it," Stevens said.